Author Denise McGeehttp://denisemcgee.com
engaging stories about unique individualsThu, 10 Aug 2017 18:18:45 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.132364420You gotta have goalshttp://denisemcgee.com/you-gotta-have-goals/
Wed, 24 May 2017 18:03:17 +0000http://denisemcgee.com/?p=2718Have you ever watched a movie or read a book and suddenly the main character does something so completely uncharacteristic it ruins the entire story? This happens when the writer doesn’t understand a character or wants the story to go a certain direction so they force it. Unfortunately, this can leave the audience confused at the best and disgusted at the worst. I know I have thrown down books and never picked them up again when this has happened.

A good example of this is the character Claire in Jurassic World. She’s a tough businesswoman. She keeps calm when things go wrong. She handles things. Her blind spot is in thinking of dinosaurs as products. Like they are overgrown iPhones or robots or something.

But then suddenly she panics when things go wrong. She’s unsettled and disoriented. She becomes unsure and relies on Owen to save the day. Totally not the same person at all.

Some argue that being chased by a dinosaur might bring out new character aspects. Fair enough in your average person. However, this is a woman who is in charge of a dinosaur park! She has to have had training and procedures and backup plans to her backup plans. Dinosaurs getting loose are an everyday possibility. She’d be prepared for it. It’s a “C’mon people we’ve practiced this!” moment. But we’re supposed to believe she freaks out when it happens. It’s completely out of character for Claire to crumble when faced with a problem. Much like John Hammond or Mr. Arnold (without the death), she’d be…you know…a leader. Instead, she got all emotional, because…lady parts, I guess.

I understand why they chose to push the story this direction. They wanted Owen and Claire to be together and they wanted Claire out among the dinosaurs so she could have her “these things feel” epiphany. Unfortunately, the whole thing feels forced. The Claire at the start of the movie would have kept her calm, stayed in ops, and run the evacuation from there instead of running around the island accomplishing nothing.

So how do we, as writers, avoid such issues? By understanding your character. Really understanding them. Deep down inside what do they really need? What motivates them to act the way they do? And what conflicts stand in their way and keep them from achieving their goals?

Jurassic World would have us believe that Claire’s underlying goal is to find a man to rely on. As if. A strong independent businesswoman who has overcome barriers to become the head of a multi-billion dollar company at a young age is really just searching for the right guy? Uh huh. This is what I meant about understanding your character. Something else drove Claire to her position with InGen. Something drove the wedge between her and her sister. Unfortunately, we have no idea what that is, and so Claire loses that something that drives her story forward.

Owen is easier. His underlying need is to be the best. And not an ordinary best. Someone unique. Anyone could tame lions. He tames raptors. This need motivates him through everything he does in the movie. He’s the best at tracking down the nephews. He’s the best at leading the raptors into battle. He has a setback when the raptors change sides (conflict), but he is validated at the end when Blue turns on the Indominus and doesn’t attack him, Claire, or the kids. He was indeed the best.

Since we don’t know Claire’s underlying goal, she really has no motivation. So she is given an external one by putting her nephews in danger. Her conflict is all external as well. The only internal shift she has is when she finally realizes dinosaurs are not decor.

Goal – Motivation – Conflict

There are actually multiple versions of this trio in a well-written story. I touched on this earlier when I spoke of Claire’s motivation all being external.

The external goal of Jurassic World is to stop Indominus Rex. That’s fairly obvious. This goal motivates the characters and provides the action. Your characters internal goals dictate how they react to this external event. It’s their response which drives the story forward. If Owen didn’t have the need to be the best, he wouldn’t have cared if Hoskins took the raptors after Indominus. But only he could run them. If someone else could do it, then he wasn’t the best. So we have him on his motorcycle hunting with the raptors. You’ll note I never said they had appropriate or rational responses, just that their responses spring from what drives them.

Conflict is also internal and external. There’s the internal conflict Claire suffers for about 5 minutes when her sister guilt trips her about not spending time with her nephews. This is supposedly the catalyst for her abandoning her job and running off into the park to find them. It’s inauthentic because it’s outside anything we’ve been shown about Claire previously. She thinks in terms of satisfaction surveys and focus groups rather than personal feelings. The real Claire would have sent people off to look for them and worried about mitigating damage so share prices didn’t drop.

So we have internal and external Goals, Motivations, and Conflict. Each scene rests upon this tripod as well. And each character. Even the antagonist. And the great thing about GMC is that it works for pantsers as well as plotters. Plotters can plan an entire outline by asking themselves about goals, motivation, and conflict for each scene and chapter. Pantsers can keep GMC in mind as they dive into writing.

Know your character and you know your story. It’s as simple as that.

]]>2718The Perfect Opening Scenehttp://denisemcgee.com/perfect-opening/
Sun, 14 Aug 2016 15:02:09 +0000http://denisemcgee.com/?p=1538Opening scenes are hard. They have to do a lot. They have to introduce your characters. They have to set the tone for the story. They have to set the reader’s expectations.

This last item is probably the biggest one, and it’s why getting the opening right is so very important. So I’m going to jump right to the best opening sequence I’ve seen. It’s not from a book, however, it’s from a movie.

That movie is Deadpool. Just watch this:

Everything you need to know about the movie is right there in the Opening Credits. You can tell right away this is a movie that’s full of action but doesn’t take itself seriously. There’s violence but there’s also frat humor and foul language. No one could watch the opening sequence and think this movie was your typical superhero movie. It wasn’t another Avengers movie, and it definitely wasn’t Superman. Viewer’s expectations are set and everyone could settle in knowing exactly what type of ride they were about to go on.

Now imagine if the movie was meant to be the next Batman vs Superman. The opening sequence we just watched would have set the wrong expectations. Audiences would have been extremely disappointed and let down. The reviews would have been vicious.

This is not something you want to happen with your books! So craft your opening scene with the same care that went into Deadpool. And then follow through on that promise. Because that’s what the opening scene is – a promise to your readers. If you start out with a comedic opening, then your story needs to continue the funny. If you open with a big dramatic scene set in the 18th century and then halfway through aliens show up, your readers will feel cheated.

It all starts with the opening scene. Nail that and readers will be willing to follow where you lead. Betray your readers, however, and they will not be kind.

]]>1538One year laterhttp://denisemcgee.com/one-year-later/
Sun, 06 Dec 2015 20:53:30 +0000http://denisemcgee.com/?p=1472A lot has happened this past year, but it can be summed up in five words: I went back to work.

In January of this year, I started a full-time position in a call center. The work itself isn’t too bad, I’m good at it at least which makes me less likely to be screamed at. And yes, I have gotten many calls with screamers. Why grown adults think screaming like a toddler will magically allow me to fix their problem instantaneously is beyond me.

Besides the screamers, and the hour long commute in Atlanta traffic, the worst part is actually…working. I was a stay at home mom for 16 years. And while that was work, too, my schedule was my own. My job even tells me when I’m allowed use the bathroom. It’s like being in kindergarten again, but without the nap time.

In addition to working, I’m still in college. Juggling the two, plus family has been….challenging. Needless to say, not much writing has gotten done. I’m starting to feel I have gotten a handle on it all again and while I haven’t actually written much, I never stopped thinking about it. Lately I’ve even been busting out some of my writing theory books and brushing up the outline for Full Moon Mix-Up. Hopefully, I can get it finished and out for consumption soon.

When you think in terms of “I want to” instead of “I have to” your whole attitude changes. It releases stress and makes you less likely to procrastinate on things you don’t really like to do. It’s all part of the ‘keeping your eye on the prize’ way of thinking.

I want a clean kitchen. Washing the pots and pans (one of my least favorite things) is part of that.
I want to publish this story. I want to write every day so I can finish it.
I want to graduate from college. This class is a step in that direction.

You don’t have to love all the little steps needed to reach your goals, but if you keep what you want firmly in mind it helps with the motivation to push through and succeed.

(from her blog)
ASSIGNMENT: List ten books and films that are similar to your own story in structure and/or genre (at least five books and three movies if you’re writing a book, at least five movies if you’re writing a script.).

I had no issue coming up with a dozen movies but the books? I came up with three. THREE! Shameful, right?

Well, technically they’re all series, but I should be able to do better than that. I am, afterall, a reader as well as a writer. I should be able to name more than a measly three books.

The basic problem, as I see it anyway, is that my reading tastes are changing and I haven’t found that reading niche that excites me yet.

The last two books have lots of sex scenes, but I’m not interested in those so much as the stories they told. I like quirky. I like humor. I’m a sucker for a guy in uniform. I like action. I like supernatural. So hit me with your best shots. I’m open to something new.

]]>http://denisemcgee.com/stupid-author-problems/feed/11261One Small Touch Availabilityhttp://denisemcgee.com/one-small-touch-availability/
Sat, 09 Aug 2014 23:26:54 +0000http://denisemcgee.com/?p=1240In case you missed it, and it would have been easy to do, I’m pleased to announce that One Small Touch in ebook form is no longer exclusively available on Amazon. It’s now available wherever ebooks are sold. If you like a vendor, and don’t see it listed, please let me know.

As always, One Small Touch is also available in paperback everywhere. Just ask for a special order at your local bookstore or find it online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book-a-Million or any other online bookstore.

]]>1240Why I love books on writing theoryhttp://denisemcgee.com/love-books-writing-theory/
Wed, 02 Jul 2014 19:25:18 +0000http://denisemcgee.com/?p=1233I may be odd, but I love reading books on writing theory. Part of this is because I have a need to know the ‘why’ of things. When I wrote One Small Touch is was completely by instinct. I’ve been a voracious reader my entire life and the ebb and flow of a story apparently ingrained itself on my subconscious enough that I was able to pull off a credible book.

But when it came time for my second story, I wanted to know why I wrote the way I did. Why elements worked together the way they did and why readers responded to certain things and not others. I also wanted to know how I could improve myself. How to make each successive story better than the last.

So I’ve spent the better part of the last year not only studying for college, but studying writing.

The best writing book I’ve read so far is Scene and Structure by Jack Bickham. It really lays out what makes a scene stick with a reader and what logical order a scene follows. You can bend these ‘rules’ but readers subconsciously know something is off and you can lose their interest fast.

The best ‘get your head out of your ass’ book is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. If you need to understand WHY you self-sabotage, this is the book for you.

The best all-encompassing book is David Farland’s Million Dollar Outlines. This book covers the psychology of your characters, emotional beats, settings, viewpoints, conflicts and a host of other elements. It then takes all those elements and teaches you how to tie them all together in one neat outline shaped bow in a rather unique way.

The best ‘where do I start’ book is Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell. It changed how I looked at writing completely.

There were a lot of other great books I’ve read; Writing Thrillers by Michael Newton, any of the Write it Right series by Tristi Pinkston, Screenwriting Tricks for Authors by Alexandra Sokoloff, but the ones listed above stuck with me the most.

Stories about vampires have existed for a very long time. The Ancient Greek and Romans, Mesopotamians and even Hebrews had tales about demons or spirits who behaved much like the mythos of vampires today.

Fangs weren’t prevalent in early vampire folklore.

Placing seeds or sand on the ground near a grave of a suspected vampire was supposed to keep them occupied until morning since they were apparently OCD and felt compelled to count each grain.

Folkloric vampires were not vulnerable to sunlight. They preferred the night but could move about by day without suffering.

Silver not only affects werewolves but it is said to be able to harm vampires, too. Silver crosses were doubly effective.

Contrary to the pasty vampires of the movies, originally it was said you could spot a vampire by its ruddy complexion. Suspected vampires had their graves desecrated and corpses with flushed skin or rosy cheeks were either beheaded or staked through the heart.

]]>1228Filling in the Blanks of My Lifehttp://denisemcgee.com/filling-in-the-blanks-of-my-life/
http://denisemcgee.com/filling-in-the-blanks-of-my-life/#commentsWed, 12 Mar 2014 17:07:28 +0000http://denisemcgee.com/?p=1101I didn’t go to college after high school, although I took all the college prep classes. There were many reasons for this, chief among them a well-meaning but ineffectual guidance counselor with a cool new toy.

He plunked me down at a computer (with dual floppies – this was 1985) and had me run a search for colleges I might like. Once I had excitedly narrowed down my choices to my top 3 it started asking questions about my parents finances that I had no real knowledge of. At the time all I knew was that my dad, a welder, hadn’t had steady work since the iron belt became the rust belt, and my mom worked in the kitchen of a nursing home to pay the bills. So, I guessed on the answers.

You can imagine my shock when this shiny new program informed me that my parents would be expected to contribute $30,000 a year to my education. They didn’t even make that a year. I went through the process again, choosing different colleges, and changing my parents’ info. Same result every time.

What I didn’t understand at the time was this cool new program was extremely limited. It only had Ivy League colleges and was designed for families that could afford them. It also made no mention of financial aid, scholarships, grants or any other forms of financing. All I knew that all my dreams of going to college were just that…dreams…because my parents weren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination.

So in typical ‘me’ fashion, I gave up. I sank into a depression, and my grades fell through the floor. This was complicated further by the death of both my paternal grandparents within a couple months of each other. At one point I even contemplated ending it all. Afterall, if I had no future what was the point of sticking around for it. I didn’t really want to die, however, so in a cry for help I wrote the following poem for an English assignment.

the tree is dead inside
not dead dying
dead uncaring
there is no hope
and no tomorrow

Naturally, this resulted in my being pulled into the office for a talk. I opened up enough to my teacher that she helped with some of my depression, but I never did tell her the real reason for it. I let her believe it was too much death in a short span of time, and she helped me with a little grief therapy. It wasn’t everything I needed, but it was enough to keep me going.

Fast forward nearly 30 years, past working 10 years at a library, getting married, and having children. In short…living. Along the way I finally learned about financial aid and ways of paying for school that my guidance counselor never explained aside from a pro forma checklist we filled out. I yearned to go back to school but the time was never right. After a while I started thinking maybe I was too old now, but my maternal grandmother was always in the back of my mind when that thought came to call. She graduated college at 56. She didn’t let a little thing like age stop her from doing what she wanted.

So, last August I abruptly decided it was time. I was going back to school. The kids were old enough I didn’t need to constantly supervise them. I wasn’t working outside the home. And my writing was something I could work around.

I contacted Southern New Hampshire University thinking I could start in January. That would give me time to fill out the paperwork, go through admissions, and get my financial aid in order. I was wrong. All the long awaited pieces of my educational journey fell into place and within 5 days of applying I was taking my first class. It was a whirlwind of fate that still shocks me at times.

So here I am in my third term, pursuing a double major of History and Accounting/Finance. And while I may complain about some of the papers I have to write, I’m loving every moment of it.

Whatever your dream, it’s never to late. Reach out and make them happen. You won’t be sorry.

One of the few things that people talk about, when talking about brand and social media is that it’s a minefield. People talk about everything from being completely overwhelmed, to not knowing what to do with their profiles. And so, I wrote 12 tutorials (and a couple of bonus exercises to help people.

Each tutorial contains an introduction, the ‘basics’, the exercise, and then a bit about what your ‘solution’ should be. They’re not designed to be the be all and end all of each network, but they are designed to support you if you’re struggling, or aren’t sure that you’ve covered everything.

I’ve keep the price low so that you can enjoy the book without feeling like you’ve had to pay a fortune for just a couple of tips too – though I could have priced it higher, I feel $0.99 is the right price for this.

Looking for support for Facebook, Twitter, Triberr? How about G+?
This book covers everything that you need to know about the very basics of each network. Exercises to give you a chance to try your learning out, hands on.
Each of the tutorials is designed to be as easy as possible to access.
Originally started a set of articles for a website, the tutorials have evolved into a go to guide to the simple, quick way to build an usable, safe profile online.

Kai is a veteran online marketer. She started in internet marketing, writing content for others, along with copywritten sales pages, then moved on to the indie writer’s community when KDP hit. She’s been self-publishing since 2004 (mostly poetry), and has spent the last three years or so in the community, helping others with social media, writing tutorials and articles all over.

When not writing non-fiction, Kai’s planning novels, travelling for work and having a bit of an adventure in her life. She’s the mother of two parents, owner and parent of two kittens, an artist and a dreamer.

As the book is about social media, you might want to follow Kai to find out some extra tips. Below are the various places you can follow her – remember too that these count as entries in the giveaway!